Young Sherlock Holmes

Young Sherlock Holmes (also known with the title card name of "Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear") is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film depicts a young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meeting and solving a mystery together at a boarding school.[1]

This article is about the 1985 film. For similar titles, see Young Sherlock.
Young Sherlock Holmes
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Levinson
Produced byMark Johnson
Henry Winkler
Roger Birnbaum
Screenplay byChris Columbus
Based onCharacters by
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Starring
Music byBruce Broughton
CinematographyStephen Goldblatt
Edited byStu Linder
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • December 4, 1985 (1985-12-04)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$18 million
Box office$19 million

Plot

Teenagers Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meet and become good friends as students at Brompton Academy, a school in London. Watson is introduced to Elizabeth Hardy, who is Holmes' love interest. He is also introduced to Rupert T. Waxflatter, Elizabeth's uncle, a retired Brompton professor and inventor, Master Snelgrove, the chemistry teacher, Mrs. Dribb, the school's nurse, and Professor Rathe, the fencing instructor who warns Holmes that he is too emotional and impulsive.

Meanwhile, a mysterious hooded figure uses a blowpipe to shoot Bentley Bobster and Reverend Duncan Nesbitt with hallucinogenic thorns, causing the men to experience nightmare-like hallucinations (Bobster thinks to be attacked by a cooked bird and by his own possessions, while Nesbitt thinks he sees a stained-glass figure of a knight come to life and try to kill him), resulting in their deaths by jumping out of a window and being run over by a carriage. Holmes suspects foul play about the murders, which were presumed to be suicides, but is rebuffed by Scotland Yard policeman Lestrade when he suggests a connection between the deaths. Holmes is later expelled from Brompton after getting framed for cheating by his rival, Dudley. As Holmes reluctantly prepares to leave, Waxflatter is shot with a hallucinogenic thorn and accidentally stabs himself while trying to fend off imaginary gremlins. As Waxflatter dies, he whispers the word "Eh-Tar" to Holmes.

Holmes secretly meets with Watson and Elizabeth and begins his investigation into the murders. During their investigation, the trio uncover the existence of Rame Tep, an ancient Egyptian cult of Osiris worshippers. The cult's main weapons were blowpipes, which were used to shoot thorns dipped into a solution made of plant and root extracts which, when injected into the bloodstream, causes the victim to experience realistic, nightmare-like hallucinations. Holmes, Watson, and Elizabeth then track the cult to a London warehouse, where the Rame Tep are performing human sacrifices in a secret underground wooden pyramid-shaped temple. After they interrupt their sacrifice of a young woman, the Rame Tep members pursue the trio and shoot them with thorns, but the three manage to escape into a cemetery. They begin to experience hallucinations (Elizabeth being buried alive by her uncle, Watson being force-fed by sentient pastries, and Holmes seeing his father angry for him telling his mother of his unfaithfulness and later seeing a real Rame Tep member as his father trying to kill him), but they survive. Holmes, Watson and Elizabeth are later reprimanded by Lestrade, who still dismisses Holmes' deductions. Holmes leaves him several poison thorns for analysis, and Lestrade pricks his finger on them as he tries to brush them off his desk.

The following evening, at Waxflatter's loft, Holmes and Watson discover a picture of the three victims and a fourth man, Chester Cragwitch, who is the remaining victim. However, they are discovered by Professor Rathe and Mrs. Dribb, who plan to expel Watson and Elizabeth in the morning. That night, while Elizabeth heads to Waxflatter's loft to salvage his work, Holmes and Watson head to see Cragwitch, who explains that in his youth, he and the other men had discovered an underground pyramid of Rame Tep and the ancient tombs of five Egyptian princesses while building a hotel in Egypt. Their find led to an angry uprising by the people of a nearby village, which was violently put down by the British Army. The men returned safely to England. However, a local boy of Anglo-Egyptian descent named Eh-Tar and his sister vowed revenge against them after their parents were killed in the attack, and also seeking to replace the bodies of the five Egyptian princesses. Cragwitch is then shot by a poisoned thorn and tries to kill Holmes, but is knocked unconscious by Lestrade, who reconsidered Holmes' advice after he had suffered the hallucinations himself.

As they return to the school, a chance remark by Watson causes Holmes to realize that Eh-Tar is none other than Professor Rathe, but he and Watson arrive too late to stop him and Mrs. Dribb, who is revealed to be Eh-Tar's sister, from abducting Elizabeth. Using Waxflatter's latest invention, a flying machine, Holmes and Watson travel to the warehouse just in time to prevent Eh-Tar from sacrificing Elizabeth as the fifth and final "princess". They accidentally burn down the Rame Tep pyramid, killing several cult members, and Mrs. Dribb is shot through her own blopipe by Holmes and catches fire in her panic. Eh-Tar escapes with Elizabeth and Holmes is knocked unconscious but Watson saves them both, destroying Eh-Tar's carriage by attaching a chandelier chain to it, in order to lift an unconscious Holmes out of the burning temple. Eh-Tar tries to shoot Holmes, but Elizabeth intervenes and takes the hit instead. Enraged, Holmes duels Eh-Tar and finally manages to get the better of him when Eh-Tar falls into the frozen River Thames, presumably to his demise. Holmes returns to Elizabeth's side and holds her as she dies.

Afterwards, attending Elizabeth's funeral, Holmes decides to transfer to another school to get his mind off Elizabeth. As he exchanges goodbyes with Watson, Holmes explained how he deduced the identity of Eh-Tar. Watson also points out that "Rathe" is "Eh-Tar" spelled backwards, a clue that Holmes failed to notice. Watson gives Holmes a pipe as a Christmas and farewell present. As Holmes leaves in his new detective outfit, Watson's older self (the Narrator) expresses that he was certain he would have more adventures at Holmes' side.

In the post-credits scene, Eh-Tar is revealed to be alive; he checks himself into an Alpine inn with a new name, "Moriarty".

Cast

Production

While the film is based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the story is an original one penned by Chris Columbus. Though he admitted that he was "very worried about offending some of the Holmes purists",[2] Columbus used the original Doyle stories as his guide.[2] Of the creation of the film, Columbus stated:

"The thing that was most important to me was why Holmes became so cold and calculating, and why he was alone for the rest of his life," Mr. Columbus explains. "That's why he is so emotional in the film; as a youngster, he was ruled by emotion, he fell in love with the love of his life, and as a result of what happens in this film, he becomes the person he was later."[2]

When Steven Spielberg came aboard the project he wanted to make certain the script had the proper tone and captured the Victorian era.[3] He first had noted Sherlockian John Bennett Shaw read the screenplay and provide notes.[3] He then had English novelist Jeffrey Archer act as script doctor to anglicize the script and ensure authenticity.[3]

The cast includes actors with previous associations to Sherlock Holmes. Nigel Stock, who played Professor Waxflatter, portrayed Dr. Watson alongside both Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing in the BBC series of the 1960s.[4] Patrick Newell, who played Bentley Bobster, played both PC Benson in 1965's A Study in Terror[5] as well as Inspector Lestrade in 1979's Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.[6] Cast member Alan Cox's father, actor Brian Cox, would later have a connection as well: he would play Dr. Joseph Bell, the inspiration for Holmes, in the television film The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The movie explains where Holmes gains the attire popularly associated with him. His pipe is shown as being a Christmas present from Watson, the deerstalker hat originally belonged to Professor Waxflatter and is given to him by Elizabeth after the professor dies, and the cloak is taken from Rathe ("Call it a trophy; the skin of a leopard") after Holmes defeats him.

The film is notable for including the first fully computer-generated photorealistic animated character, a knight composed of elements from a stained glass window.[7] This effect was the first CG character to be scanned and painted directly onto film using a laser.[7] The effect was created by Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic and John Lasseter[8]

In the United Kingdom and Australia, the film was titled Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear;[9] in Italy only "Pyramid of fear" (Piramide di paura).

The fencing scenes were shot at Penshurst Place in Kent.[10]

Music

The film music was composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton, who has a long-standing history of scoring orchestral film soundtracks. The music for the film was nominated for Grammy and also received a Saturn Award. The film soundtrack, released by MCA, was released on audio tape and vinyl but not compact disc. A limited edition of the entire score was released as a promo CD in 2003; Intrada issued the entire score commercially in 2014.

MCA track listing:

  1. Main Title (1:58)
  2. Solving the Crime (4:53)
  3. Library Love/Waxflatter's First Flight (2:23)
  4. Pastries & Crypts (5:44)
  5. Waxing Elizabeth (3:35)
  6. Holmes and Elizabeth – Love Theme (1:54)
  7. Ehtar's Escape (4:02)
  8. The Final Duel (3:51)
  9. Final Farewell (1:53)
  10. The Riddle Solved/End Credits (6:25)

Intrada track listing, with tracks on the original release in bold:

Disc 1

  1. The First Victim (2:57)
  2. The Old Hat Trick (1:45)
  3. Main Title (2:01)
  4. Watson's Arrival (1:03)
  5. The Bear Riddle (:46)
  6. Library Love/Waxflatter's First Flight (2:54)
  7. Fencing With Rathe (1:07)
  8. The Glass Soldier (3:22)
  9. Solving The Crime (4:54)
  10. Second Attempt (1:11)
  11. Cold Revenge (4:08)
  12. Waxflatter's Death (3:38)
  13. The Hat (1:21)
  14. Holmes And Elizabeth – Love Theme (1:58)


Disc 2

  1. Getting The Point (6:25)
  2. Rame Tep (3:06)
  3. Pastries And Crypts (6:44)
  4. Discovered By Rathe (5:05)
  5. To Cragwitch's (1:32)
  6. The Explanation (1:48)
  7. Cragwitch Goes Again (1:23)
  8. It's You! (6:17)
  9. Waxing Elizabeth (3:37)
  10. Temple Fire (3:24)
  11. Ehtar's Escape (Revised Version) (4:04)
  12. Duel And Final Farewell (5:41)
  13. The Riddles Solved And End Credits (6:27)
  14. Ytrairom Spelled Backwards (:48)
  15. Main Title (Film Version) (1:42)
  16. Belly Dancer (1:02)
  17. Waxing Elizabeth (Chorus) (3:01)
  18. Waxing Elizabeth (Orchestra) (3:37)
  19. Ehtar's Escape (Original Version) (4:03)
  20. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (arr. Bruce Broughton) (01:06)

Illusionist David Copperfield used the music from the soundtrack for several segments of his The Magic of David Copperfield XIII: Mystery on the Orient Express television special, in which he levitated an entire train car from the famed Orient Express.

This is also one of only three Amblin Entertainment productions on which the logo is accompanied by the music composed for it by John Williams; the others are The Color Purple and The Money Pit.

Reception

Box office

The film was a box-office disappointment, grossing around $19 million against an $18 million budget.[11]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 64% based on reviews from 22 critics. The site's consensus states: "Young Sherlock Holmes is a charming, if unnecessarily flashy, take on the master sleuth."[12] On Metacritic the film has a score of 65% based on reviews from 15 critics.[13]

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and wrote: "The elaborate special effects also seem a little out of place in a Sherlock Holmes movie, although I'm willing to forgive them because they were fun."[14] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "The production is first-rate in all technical ways imaginable, but the villain that Holmes and Watson chase is not worth their intellect or time or ours."[15] Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com called the film "great fun".[16] Reviewing the film for The New York Times, Leslie Bennetts called it "a lighthearted murder mystery that weds Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the kind of rollicking action-adventure that has made Steven Spielberg the most successful movie maker in the world".[2]

Colin Greenland reviewed Young Sherlock Holmes for White Dwarf #77, and stated that "Conan Doyle's creation is reduced to an irritating sequence of in-jokes about deerstalkers, violins and pipes. Instead of sleuthing we get swashbuckling in the blazing temple and swordplay on the frozen Thames; creditable acting, but a crass production from start to finish."[17]

Pauline Kael wrote, "This sounds like a funnier, zestier picture than it turns out to be. ... As long as the movie stays within the conceits of the Holmesian legends, it's mildly, blandly amusing. But when one of the imperilled old men gives an elaborate account of the background of the villainy ... your mind drifts and you lose the plot threads. And when the picture forsakes fog and coziness and the keenness of Holmes' intellect – when it starts turning him into a dashing action-adventure hero – the jig is up. ... the movie lets you down with a thump when Holmes and his companions enter a wooden pyramid-temple hidden under the London streets. ... There's a resounding hollowness at the center of this picture – Levinson's temple of doom".[18]

R.L. Shaffer writing for IGN in 2010, felt the film "doesn't hold up all that well" and that ultimately "the film shall remain a cult classic – loved by some, but forgotten by most."[19] DVD Verdict stated that the film was both "a reimagining of the detective's origin story, but it is also respectful of Arthur Conan Doyle's work" and "a joy from beginning to end."[20]

Awards

1985 – Academy Award For Visual Effects (nominated)[21]

1985 – Saturn Award for Best Music - Bruce Broughton (won).

Video game

A video game based on the movie was released in 1987 for the MSX called Young Sherlock: The Legacy of Doyle released exclusively in Japan by Pack-In-Video. Although the game is based on the film, the plot of the game had little to do with the film's story.

References
  1. Ebert, Roger (1985-12-04). "Young Sherlock Holmes Movie Review (1985) | Roger Ebert". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  2. Leslie Bennetts (December 1, 1985). "Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) IMAGINE SHERLOCK AS A BOY..." New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  3. Boström, Mattias (2018). From Holmes to Sherlock. Mysterious Press. pp. 406–407. ISBN 978-0-8021-2789-1.
  4. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 308. ISBN 9780857687760.
  5. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 280. ISBN 9780857687760.
  6. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. pp. 198–199. ISBN 9780857687760.
  7. "Visual and Special Effects Film Milestones". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  8. "The history of CGI list". Listal.com. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  9. Barnes, Alan (2011). Sherlock Holmes on Screen. Titan Books. p. 305. ISBN 9780857687760.
  10. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Young Sherlock Holmes Film Focus".
  11. Friendly, David T. (2000-07-05). "'Purple,' 'africa' Pace Box Office - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  12. "Young Sherlock Holmes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  13. "Young Sherlock Holmes". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  14. Roger Ebert (December 4, 1985). "Young Sherlock Holmes". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  15. Gene Siskel (1985). "2 CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A GOOD MYSTERY LOST IN 'YOUNG SHERLOCK'". ChicagoTribune.com.
  16. "Young Sherlock Holmes". Filmcritic.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  17. Greenland, Colin (May 1986). "2020 Vision". White Dwarf. Games Workshop (77): 11.
  18. Kael, Pauline. Hooked. New York: Dutton, 100-02.
  19. "Young Sherlock Holmes". IGN. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  20. "Young Sherlock Holmes". DVD Verdict. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  21. "Section 14: CGI in the movies". Design.osu.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-01-26. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
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